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Monthly Archives: November 2004

If you haven’t read Part I already, then you might want to do so now. The main reason the Knicks can afford losing Kurt Thomas is because Mike Sweetney (18.1, 17.1, -6.2) is ready to play PF full time. I’m not the only one who feels this way. Back in June, supersonics.com writer Kevin Pelton said the best age-21 comparisons for Sweetney are Zach Randolph and Carlos Boozer. While Basketball Forecast author John Hollinger thinks the former Hoya is ready to break out and become a 14-12 guy. Sweetney has two major strengths: he can score efficiently, and he can …continue reading

The Knicks are 6-6, good enough to sit atop of the Atlantic division, a half a game ahead of the Sixers. Although it’s tough to be unhappy about being in first place, things aren’t all as good as it seems. New York ranks 25th in defensive efficiency, and next to last in defensive shooting percentage (51% eFG). With all of 12 games under it’s belt, we’ve seen enough of the Knicks to start evaluating the players individually. To give a complete view, I’m going to mix my observations (I’ve watched all but one of their games) with some statistical methods. …continue reading

Rewinding back to Monday, I had a theory that Tim Thomas’ problem was psychological: “His per minute averages are about the same across the board except for points & assists… This makes me think the problem may not be physical … If it were, I would expect his stats based on physical ability (steals, rebounds) would see the biggest change … he’s suddenly & inexplicably lost his ability to make a shot… Watching Thomas it’s hard to tell if he’s mentally unhappy… It’ll be interesting to see if he can snap out of his shooting funk because everything else is …continue reading

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday the Knicks looked like the ’92 Dream Team at home against the Hawks. A day later they more resembled the Angolans staggering after a Charles Barkley elbow. The Toronto Raptors beat the Knicks yesterday by 23 points. Although both teams are now one game under .500, the Raptors have the slight edge in their win %, taking first place in the Atlantic. Hawks 88 Knicks 104 New York should have expected a good offensive explosion. Using conventional statistics, the Hawks defense merely looks bad, because they rank 24th in points allowed per game. …continue reading

[Today’s entry comes to us from guest-blogger David Crockett, Ph.D. He is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of South Carolina, and can be reached at dcrockett17@yahoo.com.] Like everyone else reading this blog I was very disturbed by the events at Auburn Hills on 19 November 2004 (and at Clemson University the following day). I am in equal measure disappointed, in the aftermath of those events, by what has passed for discourse and analysis among the punditry. Conjecture has been presented as fact. A suitable (and in large part deserving) scapegoat has been offered up in sacrifice to …continue reading

If you watched the Mavs game Friday night, you know the Knicks had two chances to win the game. Down by two, Marbury passed on a three to give an ego boost to Tim Thomas by letting him attempt the final trey. Thomas missed but the ball went out of bounds and the Knicks had another chance. Still down by 2, they threw it to Crawford who missed his newly patented 50 footer. Down by only 2 points, New York attempted two three pointers and missed both. Isn’t it logical for them to have tried for a 2 instead? I …continue reading

If you own a TV, by Monday you’ll probably have seen the clips a few hundred times. The one of Artest fouling Ben Wallace. Big Ben pushing/punching Artest in retaliation. The rumble in mid court. Artest and Jackson in the standings. The fan that came out onto the court. Debris pelting the Pacers as they leave the court. Regular speed. Slow motion. Reverse angle. Replayed again. And again. Different channel. Same clips. The person that is going to get the worst of the fallout is Ron Artest. Had he not gone into the stands, it would have been another sports …continue reading